Importance of Information Technology in HR Management

Role of Information Technology in HR Management

21st century is an era of information technologywhere things are controlled and run by computers. In the world of business, IT’s role had kept growing bigger. Information Technology can add both convenience and effectiveness and so it has become irreplacable. A computer can perform larger and more complex tasks than several people could do together. Analysing thousands of Gigabytes of data and converting it into actionable information is what computers can easily do. Without them, the job of every marketing and sales manager would have remained difficult. However, the case is not different in the world of HR either. In Human Resource management too, Information Technology and Information management tools have taken centre stage. IT is changing things around and has revolutionised the business world like never before. It has raised organisations’ productivity and helped several of them grow very large in no time. Take the example of Google. However, despite this being the era ofmachines, AI, Data and analytics, the importance of human resources has not declined. Skilled human resources are still highly in demand. It is because things will not run by themselves andbusinesses will always need people to run them. The best players value their people and instead of using them, now they work to nurture and retain talent and grow their skills. This is a critical ask for any HR manager to manage the performance of the employees and to help them achieve their potential.

Information technology comes to the aid of the HR managers who are planning to manage their employees’ performance. Right from the time of hiring to induction, training, performance management and retention, at every stage Information technology can bea major aid. It can help HR managers understand the needs of their employees and provide them with the best support. Information technology starts playing the role of the saviour right from the beginning when you are going for hiring. From posting jobs to analysing applications and organising tests and screening, information technology can help HR managers reduce their workload. Internet is enabling performance worldwide and a very large part of the world’s business goes on online. It is easier to reach a wider pool of talent using online tools. There are so many tools and websites that an HR manager can use to find and select the right applicants for a job. The hiring websites can be a major help when you are trying to find the right candidate. Linked In is such a website where you can easily find suitable people for a job without any major expenditure. HR managers would not like to waste their time on people who do not match their expectations or the requirements of the job. So, these websites like Linked In and Monster can help you target only the right people. As much has changed with Information technology. In this way, you will be making your hiring process more targeted and more effective. You will not just get suitable candidates but it will also be easier to choose the right people from among them. Whether it is about hiring full time or part time workers, without IT nothing is possible and with IT everything is possible. You can check people’s profiles and their work experience as well as skills. You an post a job, its requirements and salary so that the right people can reach you. Information Technology eradicates most of the burden associated with hiring people.

After hiring come induction and training. While induction is a less cumbersome process and can be easily accomplished with the help of technological tools, training can be a little complex but gets easy when you are using the right tools and software. Even during induction process you can use the right Information Technology tools and software to make induction easier and to make new hires feel included. Welcome mails, necessary instructions and initial guidance can all be provided through email and the other IT tools. Training the new employees can be a major task and while some of them may have all the needed skills and experience, they too may need some training to adjust in the new environment. It can be easier if you use web based tools for training. These tools make training engaging and easier in several ways. Lessons and training material can be easily delivered over the web and by using IT tools and software. Software like powerpoint and excel make it easy to deliver presentations and analyse data.Line managers and HR managers can use these tools to make engaging presentations and to train their new employees. You can also upload training material online thatthe new employees can use for self training. Email based and web based training material can help your employees learn faster. This will make your training process effective and the employees will get ready faster for their jobs. It is also why IT skills have become a must have for the HR managers.

After training comes the more important part which is performance management. If you want your employees to achieve their full potential. Apart from performance assessment and managing feedback, Information technology can be used to set performance standards and to evaluate performance. It becomes easier to compare the performance of the employees against the set standards. from getting feedback from the line managersand colleagues to assessing all the gathered data and checking it against the metrics, it all gets simple when you are using the right tools. There are many software available in the market to help you with performance management. Performance management is not just the task of evaluating your employees’ performance and telling them where you are missing but also of grooming them for better performance. Human resources development is also an important part of performance management.You can check where an employee is missing and what resources or skills he will need to perform and grow faster.Accordingly, you can advise them and provide them the right support so they can perform better and be more productive. The whole process grows faster and more effective with IT tools. So, overall the burden on the shoulders of the HR managers and line managers is greatly reduced when you employ the right tools and strategy. HR managers apart from having IT tools should also have the right strategy which will help them bring better results from her resources. It is why the larger technologic organisations have a Chief Technology Officer to oversee the technological aspects of business and keep it updated with the best technology.

However, training and performance management are not the last point where the HR managers can use IT and related websites and tools. Apart from these things the HR managers can use IT for several other purposes too like managing a Human Resources Information System. These tools can also help with the planning part. HR managers can use these tools of regular assessment and feedback for continued performance management. Performance management is not something to be done once a year but an ongoing process.Retention also requires use of Information Technology. You must keep yourself abreast of industry best practices and adopt the ones thatsuit your organisation. This will help keep your employees engaged and interested.You can design your own training programs which is also a good method of keeping your employees engaged. If you wish to retain your best talent then you should focus on employee engagement.Information Technology can offer the best support for employee engagement and to improve employee participation. Both the line managers and HR managers must use technology for churning excitement inside the organisation. Employees should be allowed to learn new skills and acquire new knowledge. Web 2.0 tools can help you achieve all thatyou want from your employees.

Abhijeet Pratap

I have studied Marketing and English Literature and like to write on topics in Business management, Marketing, literature, latest technologies and other areas. I also like to spend my time learning coding.